Devices · Apple desktops and laptops
Macs are capable of failing in different ways to PCs. Encryption is turned on before the machine is powered on for the very first time. Newer models have their flash memory attached to the logic board, and these models can't be accepted. A Fusion iMac has a single volume spread across two separate disks. Downloaded software quits as soon as it hits an obstacle. To get a quote, please contact us first. After we have given you a quote, send the disk from Plymouth, Devon or Cornwall along with the password, and neither encryption nor a Fusion pair will get in the way. If you're not sure what type of storage your Mac has, ring us first.
You will be talking to an engineer
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| What turns up | What that points to | Where to start |
|---|---|---|
| A folder with a question mark, flashing | No disk it can start from exists | Keep it off and have the disk tested |
| A circle with a line through it on start-up | macOS exists but refuses to load | Check the disk first, then the container |
| First Aid reports errors then stops | APFS damage beyond what Disk Utility fixes | Take the image, decide afterwards |
| com.apple.DiskManagement.disenter error -119930868 | The APFS volume refuses to mount | Normally read back off a clone |
| Disk Utility reports File system verify or repair failed (-69845) | macOS has run out of options | Power it down and stop there |
| Boot loop that started with a macOS update | Damage to the firmware or the container, with all the files underneath safe | Usually recoverable |
Whatever is delivered is booked in using a unique reference (case number) on the date it arrives at the bench. The engineer will identify the actual fault at no charge. This gives a straightforward answer on what can be recovered from the drive and what cannot, plus one written quotation. There will be no further activity until you have read and accepted the quotation.
When FileVault is turned on, everything on the disk is ciphertext. If you provide the password, the job becomes an everyday one. We take the image in a way that can still be decrypted afterwards.
Any disk that is held in with screws is imaged just like any other disk. Please remove the disk from the case and send only the disk to us. Flash that is soldered in place is not a job we take on. If you're not sure which kind you have, please ring us first.
When working with a Fusion iMac, the beginning of a document may sit on the SSD, whereas the rest of it is on the hard drive. We image both disks separately and then work out how the CoreStorage or APFS configuration combines the two. Whole documents are returned to you, rather than the broken pieces they were stored as.
Give yourself time to consider it. It costs you nothing. We list all of the files we recover for you before sending out an invoice, and we only ask for payment once you have authorised it. We also buy media specifically for your recovery and send it back to you, with the return postage paid by us. The case stays here on our bench until we have your confirmation that the files open properly on your own machine.
On the numbers: Apple has never published failure rates for any particular model, and nobody (Backblaze included) has published a reliability study of soldered Mac flash, so nobody can give an honest figure for a 'MacBook failure rate'. Only Apple has those figures.
The customer had been told at the Apple Store that their iMac was dead. Inside the iMac was a Fusion Drive (a flash module and a spinning disk, presented as a single volume by macOS), and the mechanical half was beginning to fail. Both parts were copied individually and then the pairing between them was recreated, leaving a design studio with ten years of its work.
Yes. You need your login password or your recovery key to unlock a FileVault encrypted volume. Without either, no matter where the volume goes, it will remain unreadable, including here.
Generally, no. A repair shop had been given a recovery question and a repairer had replied. The repairer's fix was to replace the logic board; the original board leaves their premises with your files still on it. Getting those files off is another service, done using other equipment. We only work on Macs that have a removable disk. Ring us first if you're not sure which kind you have.
There is a single icon in the Finder while there are two disks underneath: a small SSD and a slower spinning disk. Any file can have data blocks on both disks. Send us just half of the pair and you'll only get pieces of files back. We image each disk separately and then rebuild the map linking them together.
No, not here. Flash memory soldered directly onto the board is not something we take on, and that includes all T2 and Apple silicon MacBooks. Ring us first if you're not sure which kind you have.
Diagnosis costs nothing. We give you a report listing which files can be read, which cannot, and what is needed to get them off. Do not connect the drive until then.